The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-03-04
High License and ''free Rum. T"

The resolution of Prohibitionists that
IL they cannot secure complete re-
strictiop of making and selling ardent
spirits, they will join the liquor inter-
est IN a policy of Stree rum by defeat.
ing a high license policy, IS undoubted-
ly sincere, bu. it is greatly to be regret.
ted. If the manufacture and sale OF
strong drink are held to be sins, 1t is
not surprising that those who think 80
oppose policy of license. But with
such convictions, however natural their
opposition may be, it seems to US
great mistake, because 1t is better 10
diminish sin, il you cannot suppress 1t,
than to increase it in the hope of fore.
ing its suppression. If a man would
promote temperance, he can surely DO
something toward his end by reducing
the number Of liquor saloons from nine
thousand to six or even to three thous-
and. To insist that if they cannot be
totally abolished he will multiply them
to twenty thousand is 10 take the re
sponsibiity Of all the homes and li''
that are ruined by the increase.
His reply is that If those who desit
to prevent all the ruiz will agree t.
abolish the sin altogether, he will glad
ly cooperate with them. But tn
reply to this, in turn, which shoul
satisfy every reasonable man, is that
the number of people who believe it to
he sin, and to be treated as he pre-
fers, is too small to secure that treat
meut; and consequently, while he re-
lakes no effort to persuade others that
it is a sin to be totally abolished, he
should join in restricting its evil con-
sequences so far as the present public
conviction will permit In pursuing
this course he serves his own ultimate
object of complete suppression of the
traffic by convincing the opinion with
| out which it cannot be restricted In
any degree, while be avails himself OF
the existing opinion TO restrict 1T in
some degree. However sincerely a
man may believe the making and sale
of ardent spirits to be a sin not to be
trifed with, he cannot doubt that the
great mass of the community with
equal sincerity regard such making and
sale question solely of expediency, to
be regulated by law. In this situation
he cannot suppose that restriction
which can be secured without preju-
dice to ultimate complete suppression
is not better than the unrestricted
manufacture and sale.
The situation is not that of the
Liberty party in 1874 The question
then was the annexation of Texas, and
the Liberty party held that experience
proved that neither party was
really antislavery, as the Alabama
letter of Mr.. Clay immediately showed.
But it was that letter, not the general
conviction even of antislavery men,
which defeat ed Mr.. Clay. The letter
convinced certain number of anti
slavery Wings in New York, who un-
| til then had intended to vote for Mr..
Clay, that nothing was really to be ex-
peeled from the Wing party, and they
gave their votes to Mr.. Brney and de-
feated Clay. If temperance men real
ly believe that the Crosby bill, should
il be passed by the New York Repub-
lican Legislature, would not be enforced,
and therefore regard 1t as mere brsstun'
ta1lnae'a, they are in the position of the
Liberty party of 1874. But there is
no reason to doubt that the high Ii
cense party is not jnst as sincere and
resolute as the prohibition party; and
it is therefore extremely unwisc, upon
the theory that that party is neither
honest nor determined, to unite with
the liquor party, Wendell Phillips
deman1ed immediate aud unconditional
emancipation, but he hailed the cleo
ton of Abraham Lincoln, who was
not, in the Phillips sense, an abolition
list, as signal victory for the good
cause. 1t must be clear to every hon
est advocate of prohibition that If pub
| lie sentiment will not support the en-
forcement of high license, it would
certainly not support prohibition
high license is not prohibition, but
the strong and persistent protest
against it of the liquor interest is the
proof that it would be great victory
for the temperance cause,-Horper
Weekly.